Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ya'qub
Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ya'qub was an early 11th-century Isma'ili scholar and missionary (da'i) active in Syria, which at the time was largely under the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate.[1] Abu'l-Fawaris was active in the reign of the Fatimid imam-caliph al-Hakim (r. 996–1021),[2] and a contemporary of the fellow Isma'ili scholars, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Naysaburi and Hamid al-Din al-Kirmani. All three elaborated Isma'ili ideas about the Imamate, apparently independently, since they do not cite each other's works.[3]
Abu'l-Fawaris' only known work is the Risāla fi’l-imāma ('Epistle on the Imamate'), likely composed before 1017, is divided in sixteen chapters, deliberately chosen to correspond with al-Hakim being the sixteenth Isma'ili imam.[2] In it, Abu'l-Fawaris argues about the existence of the imamate as a necessity, as the Quran, the sharia (the body of Islamic law) and the sunnah (the traditions ascribed to Muhammad) are not sufficient.[2] The treatise has been published in a critical edition with English translation by Sami N. Makarem as The Political Doctrine of the Ismāʿīlīs: The Imamate. Caravan Books, Delmar, New York, 1977.[4]
References
- ^ Lalani 2010, pp. 12, 22.
- ^ a b c Lalani 2010, p. 22.
- ^ Lalani 2010, p. 12.
- ^ Lalani 2010, p. 97.
Sources
- Lalani, Arzina R. (2010). Degrees of Excellence: A Fatimid Treatise on Leadership. A new Arabic edition and English translation of Aḥmad b. Ibrāhīm al-Naysābūrī's Kitāb ithbāt al-imāma. London and New York: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-145-8.
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Fatimid Caliphate topics
- al-Mahdi Billah
- al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah
- al-Mansur Billah
- al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah
- al-Aziz Billah
- al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
- al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah
- al-Mustansir Billah
- al-Musta'li Billah
- al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah
- al-Hafiz li-Din Allah
- al-Zafir bi-Amr Allah
- al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah
- al-Adid li-Din Allah
- Dynasty
- Conquest of Aghlabid Ifriqiya
- Establishment
- 1st Sicilian revolt (913–917)
- 1st invasion of Egypt (914–915)
- 2nd invasion of Egypt (919–921)
- 2nd Sicilian revolt (937–941)
- Rebellion of Abu Yazid (943–947)
- Conquest of Egypt (969)
- Qarmatian invasions and struggle with Alptakin (971–978)
- Expansion into Syria
- Alexandretta
- Aleppo
- Apamea
- Uprisings of Muffarij b. Daghfal
- Bedouin alliance uprising
- Revolt of Abu Rakwa
- Hilalian invasion of Ifriqiya
- Mustansirite Hardship
- Revolt of Nizar
- First Crusade
- Siege of Ascalon
- Regime of Kutayfat and accession of al-Hafiz
- Crusader invasions of Egypt
- End of the Fatimid Caliphate
and military
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| Missionaries and theologians |
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| Anti-Fatimid movement |
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